Portal:Peru/Selected battles/4

The Naval Battle of Iquique was a confrontation occurred on May 21, 1879; during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific, a conflict between Chile and the alliance between Peru and Bolivia. This battle took place on the shores of the Peruvian port of Iquique, where the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar, commanded by the Captain Miguel Grau Seminario sunk the Esmeralda, an old Chilean wooden corvette led by Captain Arturo Prat Chacón; after four hours of combat. This event has become one of the most emblematic battles of this war due to the glorification of the fallen Chilean captain Prat and Peruvian Captain Miguel Grau's noble gesture of saving the enemy crew and rescuing Prat's body. (more...)